Chapter Nine
Dominic
Istare at myself in the full-length mirror that stands beside the clothes rack. My eyes scan the length of the black suit I'm wearing, and the crisp white shirt tucked beneath, before dropping to the tie in my hand, and I clench my jaw as irritation spikes inside of me.
My father has been knocking on the door for the past ten minutes, telling me to hurry up because I have to be at the front of the aisle soon. Thankfully, I'd locked the door after he left earlier, knowing he'd barge in here and drag me out if I hadn't.
Pulling my phone from my pocket, I call Percy as I move to the window, watching as my cousin steps out of a car with his girlfriend, Rory, following after him as they walk towards the steps that lead into the foyer.
The call connects, and my ear is assaulted with the sound of loud chatter before it starts to fade, and then I hear Percy's voice.
"Are you ready yet?"
"What's going on out there?" I ask, curious as to how much longer I can stall.
"Well, everyone's walking into the hall currently and taking their seats. Brody has gone to the bridal suite to get Alicia ready." He pauses for a moment, clearing his throat. "Unfortunately, I think you need to get out here in the next few minutes, man."
A knock sounding through the room has me growling in frustration.
Ending the call, I walk towards the door, ready to let out some of my rage on my father, but I stop in my tracks when I hear Jaylen speak.
"Dom, it's Jay. Let me in, man."
Great.
My dad sent the one man who can break down all my walls and get through to me.
Well played.
I unlock the door and pull it open, shaking my head at the blond oaf I'd class as my best friend.
"I'm not doing this," I tell him, throwing the crumpled tie on the floor like a toddler having a tantrum. "I can't do it. This whole thing is gonna be a shitshow!"
He huffs, walking into the room and closing the door behind him.
"You haven't really got much of a choice, Dom," he tells me, picking up the discarded tie and looking over at me, his piercing blue eyes clashing with mine. "This was all agreed upon."
"This whole thing is happening because of Jericho, and that bastard's not even here to see it through! Instead, he's off living his little fairy-tale life, and I'm here marrying some cruel little viper bitch."
"Woah, calling her a bitch is something we're not gonna do," he says, shaking his head as he digs his knuckles into my chest, pushing me back a step.
"I don't know what your issue with her is, but you better get over it quickly because this is happening whether you like it or not.
Sophia had to do the same shit, and you wouldn't have let her back out, so you can't either. "
"But she's evil," I spit.
"Well then, it's a good thing you don't have to actually like her, isn't it? Get married, act happy for the rest of the evening, and then go back to being a grumpy, silent bastard after that."
I roll my eyes.
I'm not grumpy. I just like things how they are, and I don't want everything changing.
I have a feeling this woman is going to turn my life upside down, and I don't like it one bit.
I snatch my tie from his hands and wrap it around my neck, lifting up my collar.
"Fine, but I swear to God, if she thinks she's turning my apartment into some pink wonderland like she has with this wedding, she's got another thing coming."
"Okay, well, I'm sure that's a rule you can put in place once she's there. Until then, be nice to the woman, will ya? She's uprooting her whole life and moving here by herself, and I can guarantee she also isn't thrilled about this marriage."
Be nice to her?
I scoff.
If he'd met her, he'd understand why that's unlikely to happen.
"You can get out now," I tell him, shaking my head. "Send my pops in here, please. I need some help with this pink piece of shit."
Ripping the tie back off my neck after failing to tie it myself, I watch him leave and sigh in relief at the moment of silence that descends upon the room before my father walks back in with an amused look on his face.
"Still struggle to put on a tie after all these years, huh?"
I groan, handing him the offending piece of material, and allow him to wrap it around my neck.
"Mum's usually here to help me."
"Well, unfortunately, you're stuck with my help today because your mother is being the compassionate woman she always is and is with your wife, considering she doesn't have her mother around, and her sister hasn't come to attend as well."
I frown as he loops the material around and tucks one piece under another.
Fuck. I'm an arsehole.
I've been so caught up in my own thoughts and feelings about this disastrous wedding that I hadn't even thought about how Alicia must feel having to go through all of this with minimal support.
"They do realise we wouldn't have had any issues with her sister coming to the wedding, right?"
He nods, tightening the tie and moving it around slightly.
"Yeah. Your mother told them Eliana was welcome when we were leaving the dinner last week, but Brody said she'd feel uncomfortable being here," he states, folding down my collar and patting me on the chest. "She is in London, though.
Charlie saw her arrive at their hotel with them, so I'm sure that's given Alicia a small amount of comfort. "
"I don't even know why I feel bad for her," I say, buttoning up my suit jacket.
"Because you're not as cold-hearted as you like to make out."